“Khamenei is a Tyrannical Ruler” Declares Ailing Political Prisoner Abolfazl Ghadyani to Egypt’s President Morsi

In a letter addressed to the president of Egypt Mohammad Morsi, following his participation in the 16th Summit of the Non Aligned Movement held in Tehran, ailing 67 year old political prisoner Abolfazl Ghayani refers to Iran’s Supreme Leader as a “tyrannical ruler” and warns the Egyptian president of the repetition of the mistakes following the Islamic Revolution in Iran, urging Morsi and his revolutionary Egyptian counterparts to follow the example of Nelson Mandela who stepped down after serving only one term as president.

Ghadyani, a senior member the Mujahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization, a leading pro-reform group in Iran was first arrested in January 2010 and sentenced to one year prison on charges of propaganda against the regime, insulting the president and insulting the supreme leader. Upon completion of his one year prison term Ghadyani was sentenced to an additional 3 years behind bars. A vocal critic of Iran’s ruling establishment, Ghadyani has written several letters to the Supreme Leader, holding him directly responsible for the bloodshed following the rigged 2009 presidential elections. He has been hospitalized several times since his arrest and incarceration as a result of a severe heart condition.

Prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ghadyani also spent four years behind bars during the late Shah’s regime and was tortured by the SAVAK.

The full content of Abolfazl Ghadyani’s letter to Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi is as follows:

In the name of God the Merciful,

As for the Abode of the Hereafter, We shall assign it exclusively for those who do not seek glory nor corruption on earth , for the [best] outcome is for the righteous.

Surah 28. Al-Qasas, Ayah 83

To the honorable president of Egypt Mr. Morsi,

Greetings. Your participation in the Summit of the Non Aligned Movement held in Tehran came in the aftermath of your historic appointment as president of the great Egyptian nation; an appointment that was a direct result of an anti-authoritarian revolution.

Unfortunately during your short visit to Tehran, the true representatives of the Iranian nation were unable to meet with you, for they were either behind bars or if free, the freedom they have been afforded was no more than that of a prisoner. Given that you yourself were once a political prisoner of Hosni Mobarak’s dictatorial regime, it would of course have been preferable had you requested to visit with the leaders of Iran’s Green Movement, a movement that served as an inspiration to the anti-authoritarian uprising of the great Egyptian nation, if not the entire Arab Spring. For had you met with them, you could have heard the true demands of the Iranian nation; and although the ruling establishment would have certainly rejected such a request, it would have at minimum provided the foundation for revisiting the suppressed demands of the Iranian nation.

During the meetings you attended, the individual currently holding the position of Iran’s Supreme Leader, spoke of democracy and justice, articulating the need to confront injustice on a global level and through international organizations. It is only fitting therefore that he be told: “Why say one thing and do another?” [Quran 61:2] In truth, it is he who exemplifies the behavior that God is addressing with these words. All the viewers and listeners witnessed the manner in which Iran’s tyrannical ruler and other despots hijacked noble concepts such as justice and democracy, making a mockery of such concepts, while evading the truth. “So take warning, O people of vision” [Quran, Surat Al-Hashr 59:2]

Alas, the criticism he [Khamenei] directed towards the international community, including the right to veto, injustices, the misrepresentation of the truth as lies and lies as truth, and the imposition of the will of those in power on ordinary citizens, just to name a few, have been taking place in Iran for years under his reign and leadership. Moreover, it is because of their protests against exactly these type of policies that the Iranian nation was suppressed on orders of Mr. Khamenei. In order to fully appreciate the level of honesty and integrity of the Iran’s despotic ruler [or lack there of] and understand the ruling establishment’s definition of justice, honesty and upholding peoples rights, you need not look any further than the inconsistencies between your actual speech and the simultaneous translation of your speech as broadcasted by the Iranian state television and radio stations. It was exactly this definition of trust and fairness that also prevailed three years ago during the presidential elections in Iran; an election that much like the reign of Hosni Mobarak and other world dictators, resulted in the establishment of an illegitimate Iranian government and prisons filled with freedom loving Iranian citizens.

I am hopeful that you, the revolutionaries and the great Egyptian nation draw lessons from the experiences of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the fate of the honorable Iranian citizens and unlike the example of the Islamic Revolution, prevent the hijacking of the Egyptian Revolution by autocrats intent on shattering the hopes and aspirations of its freedom loving citizens. I am also hopeful that you and your revolutionary colleagues use Nelson Mandela as your role model and in doing so unequivocally reject any form of government whose incumbency is based on perpetuity, delivering power to the people of Egypt who are its rightful owners, in the same manner that power was entrusted in you when they elected you as their lawful representative. I am sure that you are fully aware of the tempting tendencies towards tyranny and dictatorship, in particular as they pertain to societies in the Middle East.

Wishing all Arab nations and all nations suffering from tyranny continued and ever increasing success.